Arrangement for drying a fabric

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for air drying a textile material on a textile machine during weaving, wherein the material manufactured on the machine is in the moist or wet condition before winding onto the cloth beam.

United States Patent [191 Wymann Jan. 21, 1975 ARRANGEMENT FOR DRYING A FABRIC [75] Inventor: Hans Wymann,Tann-Ruti/ZH,

Switzerland [73] Assignee: Ruti Machinery Works Ltd.,

formerly Caspar Honeggen, Ruti/ZH, Switzerland 22 Filed: June 15, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 263,232

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,507,002 9/1924 Roeder 34/160 2,696,192 12/1954 Birchler et al. 139/291 3,021,609 2/1962 Parkes et al. 34/158 3,199,222 8/1965 Hultgreen 34/155 3,230,637 1/1966 Taylor 1 34/155 3,279,091 10/1966 Freuler 34/156 3,447,247 6/1969 Paane 34/155 3,448,907 6/1969 Otepka et al. 34/156 3,585,729 6/1971 Fleissner 34/158 3,622,058 11/1971 Vils 34/156 3,629,953 12/1971 Fleming 34/158 3,650,043 3/1972 Overly et al. 34/160 Primary ExaminerCharles .1. Myhre Assistant Examiner-Paul Devinsky Attorney, Agent, or FirmDonald D. Denton [57] ABSTRACT An arrangement for air drying a textile material on a textile machine during weaving, wherein the material manufactured on the machine is in the moist or wet condition before winding onto the cloth beam.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures ARRANGEMENT FOR DRYING A FABRIC BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In weaving processes wherein the weft threads are inserted or picked into the shed by means of a jet of liquid, the cloth or fabric formed is in a wetted condition. It is desirable and necessary to dry this cloth or fabric before it is wound onto the cloth beam. It is known to provide heat radiators for this purpose; however, the latter have various disadvantages. On the one hand, they require a large amount of energy so that they are expensive to operate. On the other hand, the rays (or at least rays of specific wave-length) destroy certain types of fabric. Finally, such radiators are sluggish in operation, that is to say on starting the machine, the development of heat is subject to delay and on shutting the machine down it ceases slowly; this impairs the uniformity of the fabric and, therewith, the quality thereof. Finally, these arrangements have the disadvantage that the drying effect or the degree of drying is not uniformly distributed over the width of the fabric.

For preparation of the ground weave for carpets, the said ground weave is, immediately after weaving, coated with a moist layer of glue. This glue coating must be dried before winding the fabric on a cloth beam. During this procedure, there prevail circumstances similar to those discussed hereinabove with reference to the loom operating with a jet of liquid; furthermore, there are the same disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION,

the width direction of the textile material. The material is conveyed transversely of the longitudinal direction of the container and past it, the container being open towards the material so that an air chamber extending in the longitudinal direction of the container is formed and is adapted to receive drying air supplied to it through an air feed conduit means. The air chamber has at least one outlet slot extending in its longitudinal direction and into the interior of the container for passing the drying air against the wet woven material before it is wound onto the cloth beam.

The arrangement according to this invention can be advantageously employed where fabric material requires drying before wind-on. The known wet-weaving process is utilized particularly when an especially dense cloth is required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail by reference to embodiments thereof and to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a section view in the longitudinal direction through an arrangement showing the container according to the invention, along the line 1-1 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken transversely of the container along the line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment illustrating a sliding wall for controlling the flow of drying air onto the wet textile material;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view showing further development of the arrangement of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the sliding walls for controlling the flow of drying air and showing variations in width of the slots for emitting drying air therefrom; and

FIG. 6 shows an arrangement in which a cover plate is moved vertically to vary the width of the slots for emitting drying air therefrom.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In all the figures, like numerals are employed to designate like elements.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 relates to an arrangement provided on a loom. What is concerned is a loom wherein the weft threads are inserted into the shed by means of a jet of water. The fabric or cloth 11 produced is, therefore, initially wet. It is wound from a taking-up or feed roller 12, over a front deflecting roller 13, over a drying arrangement 14, and over a rear deflecting roller 15, onto a cloth beam 16.

The drying arrangement 14 comprises a container 20 having lateral walls 21, the upper delimiting portions or free ends 22 of which may be bent over. The container 20 is of elongate, trough-like shape and is, as shown in FIG. 1, somewhat longer than the width of the fabric 11. The container 20 is open at the side facing the manufactured fabric or material 11. On the opposite side, it is sealed by a base plate 23, and at the ends by walls 29.

Disposed within the container 20 is an air chamber 30 extending over the entire length of the container 20. The air chamber 30 has two lateral walls 31 and a cover plate 32. The lateral walls 31 extend in the direction away from the base plate 34 of the chamber 30, obliquely outwardly. Attached to the longitudinal edges of the cover plate 32 are side plates 33 which also extend away from the longitudinal edges of the cover plate 32, obliquely outwardly.

Provided at both ends of the air chamber 30 are feed conduits 35 through which drying air may be introduced into the chamber 30. As drying air, preferably hot air is employed.

In operation, the fabric 11 is conveyed slowly over the container 20. Meanwhile, the open upper side thereof is covered by the fabric 11. The drying air introduced through the feed conduits 35 into the air chamber 30 flows between the walls 31 and the plates 33 and against the underside of fabric 1 1, whereby the latter is dried as it travels from the right-hand to the left-hand lateral wall 21, as seen in FIG. 2. If the fabric, as shown in FIG. 1, completely covers the upper, open portion of the container 30, a noticeable portion of the air passes through the fabric, whereby the drying effect is reinforced.

It is advantageous if the slots formed by the upper or free edges of the lateral walls 31 and the side plates 33 (shown as d, and'd for various positions of cover plate 32 in FIGS. 5 and 6) are in a spaced relationship such that the slots divide the width of the container 20 into three equal portions since, thereby, uniform distribution of the drying air is achieved, and this is important for uniform treatment of the material 11. However, the arrangement 14 is distinguished by extremely uniform distribution of the drying air due to the fact that the latter is uniformly distributed in the air chamber 30 and therefore flows out uniformly over the entire length of the slots formed by the elements 31, 32.

It is possible, by varying various elements, to influence the mode of operation or to achieve adaptation to varied conditions or circumstances. Due to upward and downward displacement of the cover plate 32 together with the side plates 33, a variation is achieved in respect of the two slots formed by the free edges of the elements 31 and 33. In particular the width of the said slots is varied.

However, the walls 31 and the plates 33 may also be designed for example in the manner shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 represents for example a cross-section through the wall 31. As will be seen, the latter is of double-wall construction. Between the individual halves 31' of the wall 31 extends a sliding wall 36 adapted to be displaced in the direction of the double arrow 37, whereby the width of the walls 31 may be varied. Thus the width designated as d, and d in FIG. 5 is shown as variable.

FIG. 1 shows how the length of the upper free aperture of the container may be varied. For this purpose, there are provided at both its ends slides 24 which may be displaced horizontally in the direction of the double arrow 25. In this manner, the upwardly open portion of the container 20 may be adapted to various widths of the material 11 so that substantially all of the open portion of the container is covered by said material.

In yet a further example of an embodiment on a loom having insertion of the weft thread by means of a jet of water or, wherein the known wet weaving process takes place, there is provided at a location located before the container 20 a longitudinal edge at which a noteworthy portion of the water is scraped of when the wet material travels over the said longitudinal edge. An example of embodiment employing such a mode of operation is shown in FIG. 4. According to that embodiment, there is employed a cylindrical breast beam 40 formed with a longitudinal slot 41. FIG. 4 shows the said breast beam in cross-section.

In operation of the loom, the wet fabric or cloth 11 is conveyed under tension over the breast beam 40. As this is done, a substantial portion of the water present in the wet material 11 is scraped off at the edge 42 of the slot 41 and flows into the interior of the hollow cylinder 40, from where it is discharged. It is also possible to so select the length of the slot 41 that the latter is completely covered by the fabric 11. If, in this case, additionally a low pressure is established within the cylinder 40, then due to the air sucked in through the fabric 11 at the location of the lot 41, a still further improvement of the drying process is achieved. The air suck-in may be accomplished by any suitable suction device or means 50 (such as a vacuum pump) operatively connected to said hollow cylindrical breast beam. The employment of a drying arrangement wherein the arrangement 14 is employed jointly with the arrangement shown in FIG. 4 has the advantage that the energy requirement (which per se is already relatively small) of the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is still further reduced.

The disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrative thereof and various changes and modifications can be made as will be appreciated, all within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts contained therein, and the invention is not to be restricted except by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Arrangement for drying a textile material on a weaving machine, wherein the material woven on the machine is in a wet condition before winding onto a cloth beam, characterized in that there is provided an elongated trough-like container having two longitudinal lateral walls that extend the width of the textile material to be dried and in contact with it, the spacing of said lateral walls of said container being at least equal to the width of the textile material to be dried and the material covering substantially all of the open portion of the container, said material being conveyable transversely of the longitudinal direction of the container and over it while being in intimate contact with said longitudinal lateral walls, and the container open towards said material; said container being arranged between two deflecting rollers between which the material is retained in a tensioned condition, the container having free ends attached to end portions of longitudinal lateral walls of said container that extend a short distance in the plane defined by the material between the deflecting rollers so that the material bears on said free ends as it passes over said container; an air chamber positioned longitudinally inside said container, said air chamber formed from a base surface, a cover plate and longitudinal lateral spaced walls, said longitudinal lateral spaced walls extending obliquely away from the base surface, and having side plates secured to said cover plate at their bottom longitudinal edges and extending obliquely upward therefrom, the free edges of the longitudinal lateral spaced walls and the free edges of the side plates secured to the longitudinal edges of the cover plate converge towards their longitudinal edges forming longitudinal air outlet slots, and the spacing of the cover plate and its side plates secured thereto adjustable in relation to said base surface so that the width of the opening of the air outlet slots in said air chamber may be varied; and air feed conduit means operatively connected to said air chamber for supplying drying air thereto.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1 in which said air chamber has two parallel outlet slots which are so spaced that the slots define, with reference to the width of the container, three equal portions.

3. Arrangement for drying a textile material on a weaving machine, wherein the material woven on the machine is in a wet condition before winding onto a cloth beam, characterized in that there is provided an elongated trough-like container having two longitudinal lateral walls that extend the width of the textile material to be dried and in contact with it, the spacing of said lateral walls of said container being at least equal to the width of the textile material to be dried and the material covering substantially all of the open portion of the container, said material being conveyable transversely of the longitudinal direction of the container and over it while being in intimate contact with said longitudinal lateral walls, and the container open towards said material; said container being arranged between two deflecting rollers between which the material is retained in a tensioned condition, the container having free ends attached to end portions of longitudinal lateral walls of said container that extend a short distance in the plane defined by the material between the deflecting rollers so that the material bears on said free ends as it passes over said container; an air chamber positioned longitudinally inside said container, said air chamber formed from a base surface, a cover plate and longitudinal lateral spaced walls, said longitudinal lateral spaced walls extending obliquely away from the base surface, and having side plates secured to said cover plate at their bottom longitudinal edges and extending obliquely upward therefrom, the free edges of the longitudinal lateral spaced walls and the free edges of the side plates secured to the longitudinal edges of the cover plate forming longitudinal air outlet slots, said side plates and the lateral walls of said air chamber converge towards their free longitudinal edges and the of the container, three equal portions. 

1. Arrangement for drying a textile material on a weaving machine, wherein the material woven on the machine is in a wet condition before winding onto a cloth beam, characterized in that there is provided an elongated trough-like container having two longitudinal lateral walls that extend the width of the textile material to be dried and in contact with it, the spacing of said lateral walls of said container being at least equal to the width of the textile material to be dried and the material covering substantially all of the open portion of the container, said material being conveyable transversely of the longitudinal direction of the container and over it while being in intimate contact with said longitudinal lateral walls, and the container open towards said material; said container being arranged between two deflecting rollers between which thE material is retained in a tensioned condition, the container having free ends attached to end portions of longitudinal lateral walls of said container that extend a short distance in the plane defined by the material between the deflecting rollers so that the material bears on said free ends as it passes over said container; an air chamber positioned longitudinally inside said container, said air chamber formed from a base surface, a cover plate and longitudinal lateral spaced walls, said longitudinal lateral spaced walls extending obliquely away from the base surface, and having side plates secured to said cover plate at their bottom longitudinal edges and extending obliquely upward therefrom, the free edges of the longitudinal lateral spaced walls and the free edges of the side plates secured to the longitudinal edges of the cover plate converge towards their longitudinal edges forming longitudinal air outlet slots, and the spacing of the cover plate and its side plates secured thereto adjustable in relation to said base surface so that the width of the opening of the air outlet slots in said air chamber may be varied; and air feed conduit means operatively connected to said air chamber for supplying drying air thereto.
 2. Arrangement according to claim 1 in which said air chamber has two parallel outlet slots which are so spaced that the slots define, with reference to the width of the container, three equal portions.
 3. Arrangement for drying a textile material on a weaving machine, wherein the material woven on the machine is in a wet condition before winding onto a cloth beam, characterized in that there is provided an elongated trough-like container having two longitudinal lateral walls that extend the width of the textile material to be dried and in contact with it, the spacing of said lateral walls of said container being at least equal to the width of the textile material to be dried and the material covering substantially all of the open portion of the container, said material being conveyable transversely of the longitudinal direction of the container and over it while being in intimate contact with said longitudinal lateral walls, and the container open towards said material; said container being arranged between two deflecting rollers between which the material is retained in a tensioned condition, the container having free ends attached to end portions of longitudinal lateral walls of said container that extend a short distance in the plane defined by the material between the deflecting rollers so that the material bears on said free ends as it passes over said container; an air chamber positioned longitudinally inside said container, said air chamber formed from a base surface, a cover plate and longitudinal lateral spaced walls, said longitudinal lateral spaced walls extending obliquely away from the base surface, and having side plates secured to said cover plate at their bottom longitudinal edges and extending obliquely upward therefrom, the free edges of the longitudinal lateral spaced walls and the free edges of the side plates secured to the longitudinal edges of the cover plate forming longitudinal air outlet slots, said side plates and the lateral walls of said air chamber converge towards their free longitudinal edges and the said side plates and the said lateral walls being variable in relation to each other as to width, so that the width of the opening of said outlet slots may be varied; and air feed conduit means operatively connected to said air chamber for supplying drying air thereto.
 4. Arrangement according to claim 3 in which said air chamber has two parallel outlet slots which are so spaced that the slots define, with reference to the width of the container, three equal portions. 